Legal Issues In E-commerce
INTE
RNATIO
NAL TRADE L
AW A
ND TAXAT
ION
Submitted By
Ujjwal Joshi
Major Legal Issues In E-commerce
Privacy
Intellectual Property
Free Speech
Taxation
Computer Crimes
Consumer Protection
Miscellaneous
PRIVACY ISSUES
Information privacy: claim of individuals, groups,
or organizations to determine when and to what
extent information about them is disseminated.
Right to privacy is not absolute
Public’s right to know superseded individuals right
to privacy
Five Principles Of Privacy Protection
Notice/Awareness
Notice of collection practices prior to collecting information
Choice/consent
Consumers to be made aware of options and give consent
Access/participation
Must be able to access and challenge information
Integrity/Security
Must be assured data is secure
Enforcement/Redress
Government legislation or legal remedies
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intangible property rights In E-CommerceCopyrights
Patents
Trademarks
IP Rights are not absolutePerishable
Legal exceptions to allow public use at a specific rate
COPYRIGHTINGProtects expression of idea – not the idea itselfExample , pull-down menus cannot be copyrighted
Confers owner exclusive right toCopy the workDistribute to the public
Expires after certain number of years after death of copyright holder
28 years in the US50 years in UK
Generally, contents of websites are copyrighted
Patents
Grants holder exclusive rights on inventions for fixed time
17 years in US
20 years in UK
Innovation must be
Novel
Sufficiently inventive step (not trivial)
Capable of industrial application
Amazon sued Barnes and Noble for patent infringement (1-click ordering)
Priceline has patent on reverse-auction model – sued Expedia
TRADEMARKS
Graphical sign used by business to identify their goods and services
Type of IP
Must meet criteria of distinctive, original, and not deceptive
Domain names can be trademarked if they meet above criteria
WWF won first ever ruling against man who filed for worldwrestlingfederation.com
Free Speech, Internet Decency, Spamming, And Censorship
Censorship – attempts to control material on the Web
Communications Decency Act (CDA) was passed by Congress but later ruled
unconstitutional
Protecting Children
Parental control
Governmental control
ISP accountability
AOL does not allow hate sites
CompuServe was forced by Germany to shut down 200 newsgroups related to sex
– CompuServe forced to shut them down worldwide
Spamming
Indiscriminate distribution of messages without permission of receiver
Spam comprised 30% of all AOL mail in 1998
Now down to 10% with spam blockers
Some legislation out there
Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act
Requires all spam to start with word “advertisement”
Includes name and address of sender
Other Issues
Consider on your own
Electronic contracts
Online Gambling
Validity of electronic documents
Time and date on documents across borders
Which country has jurisdiction over E-Commerce transaction
Can web site link to another without permission
Example Ticketmaster vs. Microsoft